RPE still not out :(

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#1 Post by **DotCat** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 3:46 pm

I had a really bad day today. My RPE was not removed, even if I was looking forward to it like a small kid to candy, lol. I just got upper braces for my front teeth and to be honest, it extremely hurt. My teeth are not numb anymore, but instead of normal sensing, I feel just pain when I touch them. And the doc put braces on them. God, I thought I will die when she started attaching the small rubber thingies that hold the wire in place... and when she was finished, she was bending the ends of the wire so that they wont keep poking and hurting the inside of my cheeks (no idea why she did not do it before it got attached). In short, it was worse than anything they did to me so far. When I left the chair, my tears were running and everyone kept asking me if I am ok.

RPE removal is sheduled on 14th February. They also found out that they did not expand my palate enough, so I will need to wear some sort of wire that should not just serve as retainer, but expand the arch even more. No idea how they want to do it 5 months after the surgery

I am not an happy puppy

#2 Post by **badbite** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 4:14 pm

Thats aweful! Hopefully they can expand enough to give you a good stable bite.

#3 Post by **sauerkraut** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 6:30 am

Oh DotCat you poor thing, that doesn't sound like fun. Hope you start to feel better soon.

Perhaps we should form our own Permanent Expander Wearers Club.

#4 Post by **crazybeautiful** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 10:05 am

Well that is crap! Sorry to hear it, Dotcat

And they are just realising now that they didn't expand enough? Honestly

. I had to expand another week than was expected, but at least they figured out straight away. I know about that pain though. The first RPE was too small for me, but they insisted they try to fit it anyway. Needless to say it did not fit, but I still had to go through the motions of having to bite down on it to secure it which hurt like hell! I had tears in my eyes and would have probably cried fully if they had carried on pushing it into my gums (which bled a little). OUCH!

I'm dreading the removal of it now, because I don't want it to hurt again

But anyway, back to your problems

- hope they can expand you a little more and you do actually get it removed of Feb 14th. Good luck!

#5 Post by **chipmunkcheeks** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 2:08 pm

dot,

thanks for the heads up, im getting top braces on jan 21st...though my expander is nit coming out like originally planned on the same date...even worse, not even getting it out in february..the orthos is leaving it in through the next surgery if the OS agrees to it, otherwise it wont come out until right before surgery...i have already been wearing it almost 7 months!! so by surgery, tentative for july, if it comes out i will have worn it for OVER A YEAR...i cant imagine how long it will be if i wear it through surgery cuz then it will be left in until im bebanded....about 18 months :X lets not think of the latter too much....though, dont feel too bad, others are with you on this one....

#6 Post by **DotCat** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 8:20 am

Thanks for the support.

I am honestly disappointed with the fact, that they used only a 7mm expander and hoped that it will be enough once I finish the screw instead of giving me 12mm one and doing regular check-ups on the expanding and telling me when to stop. It was easier for them this way but... hey, its smaller than it should be just because they were lazy. >__<

I have no idea how they want to expand it a little more so long after the surgery and retention. I just hope it will work and wont hurt too much

The funny thing is that my upper braces do not hurt as much as I though, even though getting them on was hell. The only problematic parts are a wire that pokes me (wax did not help, so I am stuffing that place with a cotton pad. I look like a hamster, but it helps.) and that the braces pull my teeth to one side and the expander to another, so some really hurt. But I think I will get used to it soon.

Ehm... and about the permanent expander club... what if they really do not know how to take it off? Like they took just half of the classes and now they must repeat the year to learn it, lol.

#7 Post by **sauerkraut** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 11:58 am

DotCat wrote:
Ehm... and about the permanent expander club... what if they really do not know how to take it off? Like they took just half of the classes and now they must repeat the year to learn it, lol.

DotCat, you've cracked it! Now I know why my ortho is prevaricating! I wondered what that book "How To Remove An RPE In 3 Easy Steps" was doing still in its packaging in the corner of his office.

On a more serious note, I'm glad the braces aren't causing too many problems. Have they told you anything about how they hope to achieve the extra expansion needed? Hope it all works out OK for you.

#8 Post by **DotCat** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 10:52 am

They said they will use some strong wire arch on my palate and that it should expand it a little more. I am not sure, if they are talking about palate or if they will just try to move the teeth on that side and create more space that way. Either way, I just need to be patient and let them try it.

PS: When I was getting my uppers on, the nurse handed my doc a wrong bracked about 4 times, lol. I think they did not finish the course too.

#9 Post by **science teacher** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 7:59 pm

I totally get it. I got my RPE the day before surgery 11/23/06. I was removed in May when I got a TPA it was not removed until September. So counting that up I went 10 months with something across the roof of my mouth.

When they took out the TPA they left the parts that held it in place and now I get sores on my tongue regularly from them. I asked about changing out the brackets. The ortho told me it would add 3 months to treatment. I told him I'd live with it. I just use a lot of wax over them when I get sore.

Kim